New Delhi: JNUSU president Aishe Gosh said they took out a peaceful march from JNU. "The police thought they would detain two office bearers and the movement would end, but every student is a leader," she said.
The Delhi Police urged the protesting JNU students not to take law in their hands and to maintain peace as thousands of agitators continued with their march to Parliament.
Meanwhile, the gates of the Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat have been opened, tweeted DMRC. The Lok Kalyan Marg station is not yet functional, it said.
JNUSU demanded the resignation of the vice chancellor of the university and said that fellow protesters detained by police must be released. They reiterated their demand for a complete rollback of hostel fee hike and asked the draft hostel manual be withdrawn.
Demanding a complete rollback of the hostel fee hike, hundreds of JNU students on Monday started their protest march from the university campus towards the Parliament amid heavy police deployment.
The varsity's students have been protesting for nearly three weeks against the draft hostel manual, which has provisions for hostel fee hike, dress code and curfew timings.
The police said ten companies have been deployed outside JNU. One company comprises 70 to 80 personnel.
A senior official said police personnel are accompanying the agitating students during the march to ensure no untoward incident takes place.
Initially, the barricades outside JNU's gates were removed and the students were allowed to march. The police later stopped the march around 500 metres from the varsity's gates.
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Former JNU Students' Union president N Sai Balaji said, "Delhi Police stops JNU students peaceful march to parliamentarians! The Mhrd is fooling students by forming committee. Why didn't the committee suspend fee hike till dialogue is happening? We are demanding a rollback of the fee hike."
The protest march comes on the first day of the Parliament's Winter Session, which will end on 13 December.
Earlier, the HRD Ministry appointed a three-member committee to recommend ways to restore normal functioning of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
Akshat, a JNU student said, "The students' union has not been informed by the ministry about the formation of a panel. The administration officials and the panel should speak to the elected union to solve the issue."
Priyanka, another student said, "We are being given a lollipop in terms of the partial rollback. I am the first from my family to reach university. There are many others like me. Education is not the birthright of a privileged few."
Students took out the march carrying banners which read "save public education", fees must fall" and "ensure affordable hostels for all".
Another student, who did not wish to be identified, said, "We haven't seen our VC in a long time. It's time that he comes out and talks to us. Instead of appealing to us through teachers and other methods, he should initiate a dialogue with us. "
